Police video: Cameraman tells his side of race-related incident

By CASEY MCNERTHNEY, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Published 10:00 pm, Thursday, May 6, 2010

Seattle police have started an internal investigation after viewing an April 17 video of a Gang Unit detective telling a suspect he was going to "beat the f***ing Mexican piss" out him during a robbery investigation.

The video, which debuted last month on YouTube, shows a Gang Unit detective hitting the suspect's head with his foot and stomping on the suspect's arm. A woman patrol officer is also seen stepping on the man.

The man was released from the scene on Westlake Avenue North.

The detective, Shandy Cobane, and the officer "have been administratively reassigned pending the outcome" of the Office of Professional Accountability investigation that started days ago, according to department statements. An officer familiar with the investigation identified Cobane.

Mayor Mike McGinn called the video disturbing. The City Council has requested a briefing on the results of the internal review.

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Cobane, 44, has been with the department since Oct. 1993, and a week after the controversial incident was the subject of an unrelated alleged attack in Belltown. Last October, he and fellow members of the Gang Unit won and impact award at the Seattle police awards banquet.

Videographer Jud Morris, 46, said he was working for Q13 Fox the night of April 16, and when he was leaving a few minutes before 1 a.m. April 17, he heard a heavy rescue call at Bridge Way North and Midvale Avenue North.

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He noticed at the scene that several of the cops left in a hurry, so Morris followed. He lost them, but was driving up Westlake to go home when he saw police activity in the 2000 block of Westlake Avenue North.

"I start shooting and within a couple of minutes, the incident that everybody is talking about breaks out," Morris recalled late Friday. "I see the Gang Unit guy in the kid's face screaming at him."

Early in the video, Cobane appears to be heard saying he'll "beat the f***ing Mexican piss" out of the suspect.

When the woman patrol officer stepped on the man, Morris said he exclaimed "Nice!" -- "out of shock and disbelief, not out of disapproval."

Seattle Police Guild President Rich O'Neill did not return messages for comment Friday. In a statement, the Latina/o Bar Association of Washington said police brutality is an outrage to all citizens and the initial three-sentence statement from Seattle police about "possible officer misconduct" was not sufficient. The organization urged people to contact the mayor and police chief.

After Morris' loud statement about the officer's action, he said police clearly noticed him and their demeanor changed.

Police records show that about 1:15 a.m. that night, four Hispanic men walked up to a man in the China Harbor parking lot and told him to give up his money. One pulled a 3-foot machete. The victim gave one suspect $40, but still another man said, "We can kill you right now," an incident report states.

The man with the machete appeared drunk or on drugs, the victim told police.

After police detained the men, the victim identified one of them as being part of the group of attackers. He initially told police he was from Mexico and wanted consular representation.

The man whom police stomped on was released from the scene. Click here to download a PDF of the incident report, redacted by Seattle police.

Morris approached the man, and videotaped him saying he wasn't sure why police kicked him in the head. Morris gave the man his contact information, but had not heard from him as of Friday afternoon. The man said he was based at Fort Lewis.

Morris said he couldn't really hear the words and didn't fully realize what he'd captured until he got back to his Tacoma home.

He said the next day, he took the footage to Q13 Fox.

Morris worked for years as a cable technician, but said that ended after he suffered a serious back injury in 2001. A little over a year ago, he and his wife saw an episode of "Stringers: LA," the truTV reality show that follows freelance video journalists.

He bought an inexpensive video camera the next day and already had a scanner from his experience as an amateur radio operator. In his first week as a freelancer, he covered the death of a Tacoma taxi driver and a fatal fire.

"I'm in this business to tell the truth and bring the truth out," said Morris, who has since upgraded his equipment. "Now I'm addicted to it."

When four Lakewood officers were shot to death last November inside Forza Coffee Shop, Morris got ground footage of the investigation inside the business from his position across the street. That footage was used by Q13 Fox, which hired him on a "per diem" basis from January until last Monday, he said. During the Lakewood shooting coverage, Morris said he received $300 per day from the station.

He said there was debate last month among Q13 Fox staff members about footage of the race-related incident.

"They told me the next Monday they weren't going to run it," Morris said Friday.

Though Morris said the station did not discuss in detail why staff wouldn't run the footage, he believes it was influenced by "Washington's Most Wanted," a weekly show that details fugitives and highlights police work. He called the show "their moneymaker."

Seattlepi.com has partnered with "Washington's Most Wanted" to feature cold case and other segments on the Seattle 911 blog.

Station managers did not immediately return messages Friday to discuss Morris' claims.

Morris said that after Q13 Fox did not immediately air the footage, a producer suggested he put it on YouTube. It was posted to the site April 20 or 21.

"This past Monday, I got a call saying 'We heard you put this up on YouTube. Don't bother coming in tonight," said Morris, adding he typically worked for Q13 Fox from roughly 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. "I was in my own truck, on my own time, with my own camera."

The night of the incident, Morris said he was trying to keep his overtime hours down.

Q13 Fox staff was alerted to the YouTube posting by Seattle police, according to KIRO/7 staff, who paid for the content. The video was pulled from YouTube after the deal was made with KIRO/7.

Q13's Managing Editor, Erica Hill, implied to seattlepi.com Friday morning that her station has exclusive rights to the video. The station posted a more than six-minute version on their Web site Friday morning.

Morris, who said he normally gets $100 to $150 for footage, said he plans to bill Q13 and other news stations for running the video.

"It's a little overwhelming," he said of the reaction Friday. "This is what I got in the news business for -- to bring the truth out. Honestly, in a little over a year in this business I didn't think to get the biggest story Seattle's seen in a while."